Brown Tool
The fact is that the RV community is very lucky to have several choices when it comes to tools. I and Bob Avery very rarely comment on VAF. Mike offers commentary fairly frequently, usually touting his company over the rest of us. I get that. We all have our strengths and each of us approach the market a little differently.
What started out as a question from a new builder about Brown Tool and then several positive comments about Brown Tool was hi-jacked and turned into an infomercial about CAT with a link to a spreadsheet that basically attacks the quality and/or makeup of our RV Tool Kit with some 'swipes' that were simply not true. That did not set well with me.
I suppose I could adopt the policy of offering a comment and a link to my website on just about every post regarding tools, but I am not sure that is the real spirit of VAF and it is not something I would be comfortable doing.
I have learned that RV builders are a passionate bunch and they are certainly passionate about their building choices. The forums are filled with examples of this. Builders that choose a particular tool supplier over another, or a particular RV model over another, or a particular primer over another
, will offer their reasoning when asked and that is as it should be in my opinion.
When we as suppliers chime in with our very biased opinions, objectivity is often lost. There is a fine line between offering technical advice or commentary and a self-promoting advertisement. Although I read the VAF forums just about every day, I very rarely comment unless I feel I have something objective and helpful to offer.
I went to work right out of high school building C-5B's and C-130's in the Lockheed plant in Marietta, Georgia. After getting laid off at Lockheed near the end of the C-5B program, I worked for several repair stations working on 727's, 737's, 747's, A300's, DC-8's. DC-10's, MD80's, and even L-188's, and a host of regional and corporate size aircraft before ending up in Oklahoma City where I worked for a very large aircraft repair station before heading out on my own and starting Brown Tool in 1991. From day one, we have had a strong relationship with the kit-building community and paticularly the RV community. One of my very first customers was an RV builder here in OKC.
We have advertised significantly on VAF for the past 7 or 8 years. We support the kit building community and value greatly this segment of our customer base. We recognize that we have some great competitors serving this market with us and that we will not always be the choice of the consumer. To those that do honor us with their business, we say
thank you.
Michael Brown
Brown Aviation Tool Supply Co.
Oklahoma City, OK
www.browntool.com
1-800-587-3883
michael (AT) browntool.com